A Snow Globe World
by Tadpole24
Summary: They really should have known from the start that portals would be a regular occurrence in their relationship. Captain Swan in season 4
1. Chapter 1- Conceal Don't Feel

_**Hi loves, I'm back with a new little fic. This will be told in three parts, each part containing a different number of chapters. Just a little idea for Season 4 :) I hope you enjoy it!**_

Part One

_**He pushes, she pulls**_

…  
_Conceal, Don't Feel_  
…

_If someone had asked her immediately after their 'dalliance', as he calls it, just why she had kissed Captain Hook, she'd have answered with excuses about pent up adrenaline and a good looking man. She'd have admitted to things that make sense to her, rather than the things that make her want to question everything she's ever believed about herself. Because she certainly wouldn't trust him, she certainly wouldn't have feelings for him. No. This was just about feeling good. _

_And he does feel good…_

…

"I did not!" she exclaims, as his lips assault her neck sending flickers of electricity through her body.

His hand glances up her side, thumb grazing the underside of her t-shirt covered breast, teasing her, "Oh but you did, lass."

She gasps when his fingers pull down the loose neckline of her shirt and his lips close around her taut nipple, "No, you definitely made the first move."

He smiles into her skin. There's no use arguing with her anyway, not when they're like this, wanton and hazy on any details. The extra shot of rum after dinner may not have been the wisest idea, but they enjoy this buzz, this tipsy sort of feeling and the way it makes them feel like they're youthful and clumsy, fumbling for each other in desperate happiness.

She pulls his head back up to hers and kisses him soundly while he unlaces his pants. She's grateful that she'd already removed hers before climbing into bed, and when his hand hurriedly pushes her panties aside and he's suddenly buried inside of her, she silently welcomes him home. Because it feels so right.

Even if she still has an argument to win.

"You're the one who used his mouth to bandage my hand," she pants between his thrusts, biting her lip when he hits that sweet spot inside of her.

His forehead sinks to hers, his hand running along her leg to hitch it higher on his hip, "Darling, that was not the move I was speaking of."

She smiles, raising her lips to his, "Ah, but it was a move, was it not?"

"Hmm, I suppose it was," he agrees remembering the way this beauty had taken a hold of his heart from the moment he'd set eyes on her. "I was powerless to resist your charms."

The brace on his other arm comes to rest under her hips, lifting her up and changing the angle of his thrusts dramatically. Her moan of approval nearly does him in, but he's a gentleman and he wants to make her scream first. His hand comes between them, thumb finding her clit with ease. It's been months of this pleasure bursting between them and since the beginning he's known exactly what to do to make her body sing.

Her eyes meet his from beneath hooded lids and she can feel him beginning to pulse within her. "Come with me," she whispers.

And he does. Hunching forward, over her, as he spills into her clenching walls. He continues rolling his hips through the aftershocks, their breathing erratic and their bodies exhausted and sated. He kisses her softly, lips lingering together, soaking each other up.

"You know," he begins, still surrounding every part of her, "It probably doesn't matter who made the first move, just as long as you keep letting me make them."

She smiles, her body unconsciously trying to follow him as he pulls from her, "Yeah, I suppose I'll keep you around."

He chuckles as he rolls over, reaching over to his trousers and retrieving a small pouch from the pocket, "Good. Because I have something for you."

A small ring falls from the pouch and into his hand – a pearl sitting at its heart, surrounded by a band of diamonds – its delicate simplicity is breathtaking.

Emma's eyes narrow at the piece of jewellery, her heart's pace speeding up before Killian even says a word. But when his eyes meet hers, she can read just what he's going to ask and, in this moment, every doubt possible flies into her racing mind.

Which is ridiculous, really. Because all she's ever wanted in life is validation that she is worth it, that the people she lets into her life aren't going to leave her. Everything she has always wanted is wrapped up in Killian Jones but as his lips form the question, "Marry me?" hers form the words, "I don't know."

And it doesn't make sense. Her words don't make sense when he's giving everything to her.

"I mean, I'm just…I don't…I…"

But even with crestfallen features, he reaches out to grasp her floundering hands in his one steady hand and soothes her through her minor panic, "It's okay, lass. I can wait. I will wait."

She meets his gaze, breathing calming as he rubs gentle patterns into the skin of the back of her hand, "I'm sorry, Killian. I want to, you know? But baby steps."

"Baby steps," he repeats, lying back down next to her and slipping the ring back into its pouch. He kisses her forehead and she snuggles in close to his chest, her fingertips grazing over his heart.

"I love you," she whispers into his skin again and again as they fall asleep. But even still, she wishes she knew how to love in the way he does.

…

The night had been warm with him tangled up in her, their legs entwined, his arm draped across her semi-naked form, her hand resting on his bare chest, but when she awakens in the morning, she has to pull the blankets tighter around her to keep herself from feeling the chill, even with the summer heat pushing in around the town.

Reaching her arm out across the bed finds it empty and cold, devoid of any trace of her pirate. It's not the first time that he's been gone when she's awoken, but it's the first time she's felt a sinking weight in the pit of her stomach. When they had fallen asleep the night before she'd thought that they were okay – not perfect, but okay – however, now, she's unsure.

They'd found a sail boat for him about a month back, just something big enough that he could keep his few possessions there and spend some time with his first love – the ocean. It was certainly not the Jolly Roger, which had been blooming with character and his own unique style, that had centuries of stories in its solid wooden planks, no, this boat was just a means of storage and a way to set sail when the seas beckoned to him, but Killian Jones called Emma his home now. She had joined him aboard a handful of times, but right now, she's not sure if she'd be welcome to even visit him.

Her eyes catch the little leather pouch that is sitting back on the table on his side of the bed and, eventually, curiosity gets the best of her and she's just got to see the ring again.

It doesn't scare her half as much as when he had tried to give it to her last night and she even finds herself slipping the delicate band onto her ring finger and smiling at the way it seems to just _fit_ her. Every part of her pounding heart wants to marry Killian. "Yes," she says, almost practicing for when she will say it to him, "Of course."

But, just as simply, her doubts close in on the corners of her mind and she has to rip the ring from her finger before she has a panic attack.

It shouldn't be like this. She loves him completely, she doesn't doubt that, but there's just something niggling in the back of her mind, something reminiscent of countless years of betrayal and heartache.

Before she can let it get the better of her, she sits the leather pouch back down and climbs out of bed. It's about time she started readying herself for the day.

…

Emma's practically running into the station by the time she arrives, already ten minutes late. "I'm sorry, dad. Had to drop Henry at school, then thought I'd swing by Granny's and the line was crazy," as if punctuating her sentence, she sets a coffee down on David's desk, "I thought I was on time, but…"

He cuts her off, "You don't have to lie, you know?" He's grinning when he stands up from his seat and picks up his coffee, "I know you didn't have Henry last night."

She sighs, visibly hunching over, "How much do you know?"

"Enough to know that you're not wearing a very specific piece of jewellery on your finger." He looks pointedly at her left hand, "You said no?"

She should have known, really. David and Killian had been getting on rather well of late, "He told you?"

"Not the result, but he did ask for my blessing a few days ago."

"And you gave it?" she'd have thought it would be harder to get approval out of her father.

"Of course. I've never seen you as happy as when you've been with him."

It's a kind of shocked silence that follows David's words, as though the idea that she gets a happy ending is so completely foreign to her. And in reality, it always had been that way. An unattainable myth of an imagined future. But now it doesn't have to be that way. Yet she's still wearing herself out by keeping her walls somewhat constructed.

"I said I needed to think about it," she says timidly, "It's a big step."

David nods, "That it is." But the way he says it is almost patronising, as though he already knows the outcome of Emma's stubbornness. In truth, he's faced it all before. Denial of true love only strengthens it in the end; he and Snow are perfect examples of that.

Choosing to change the subject to something slightly easier, she tilts her head in the direction of the holding cell, "What's going on here?"

The woman in the cell looks up at her mention, her eyes sad and remorseful. She's gotten herself some clothing from this realm – simple jeans and a flowy blue blouse – but Emma recognises her almost immediately as the second person she had managed to bring back with her from the past.

David takes a sip of his coffee, "Elsa's gotten herself into a bit of a mess again."

The young queen shakes her head profusely, flakes of snow falling from her in her movement and vanishing into thin air, "I didn't mean to harm anyone, I only thought I saw my sister and I…I couldn't stop it."

David continues for her, Elsa's voice cracking as tears spring into her eyes, "She couldn't control the outburst, ice shards through windows all the way up Main Street. It was an absolute mess this morning but, thankfully, we have magic here. Blue and Tink had it fixed up in no time."

From the holding cell, Elsa's voice rings out again, "I swear I'm trying to keep it under control. I just need my sister and I have no idea where she is."

Emma remembers all too well the feeling of being left alone in a harsh and unfamiliar world, forced to grow up way too fast just to support herself. And more than that, she remembers being in a cell just like this one and feeling like the world is caving in around her. It's nice to see that David actually left the barred door open and just has Elsa in there to calm herself down rather than to punish her.

At that, David claps Emma on the shoulder and walks past her, "I've gotta go check out a situation down at the docks, you'll be okay here, right?"

She knows that he's going to go and check on Killian and it actually makes her feel better that he won't be alone today, "Yeah, of course." She turns her attention to Elsa as her father leaves and smiles in, what she hopes is, an encouraging way, "We're going to find your sister, okay? It's kinda what this family does."

…

It turns out that the Snow Queen is quite pleasant when she's calm and not throwing blades of ice all over the place. She explains that her magic is unrefined and unique, that she's never met anybody else with her abilities and, because of that, she was punished and cursed to live a life of solitude at Rumpelstiltskin's wish. Her power was great and The Dark One wanted nothing threatening his own strength.

"I want to thank you," she says, before standing up and walking from her cell, "for listening to me and for trusting me to go free. Many wouldn't."

Emma smiles, seeing something of herself in this young girl. She's lost and alone in the world and just looking for that place or that person to call home, "Just be careful out there."

Elsa nods, no snow to be seen from her movement this time, and leaves the station.

The day passes by without much affair after that. David returns, assuring Emma that Killian isn't mad at her but just needing some time aboard his boat, and together they complete a pile of paperwork that had been neglected since the Wicked Witch had been in their lives.

When it's time to go home, Emma bids her father farewell outside the station and tells him she's going to make her way down to the docks to see her pirate.

"You'll still come for dinner, right?" he asks, pulling his jacket on. It may be summer, but a certain chill has entered the air this evening.

"Yeah, Henry should be at yours already; he said he was going there straight after school. I'll get Killian and we'll be up." She smiles and waves and pulls her jacket tighter around her body as the wind picks up.

The sound of David's footsteps fade into the distance as she makes her way down towards the docks. The sun is setting and the shadows of the boats in the bay are long, but she spots Killian without a problem, his steps carrying him towards her with a knowing smirk on his face. His talk with David must have really helped.

She smiles back, her pace picking up at the sight of him. But there's something else. She pauses, turning around to face the sound that is approaching her from behind. It's sharp and cool, and then all at once Elsa is running towards her with pale blue hands glowing with magic.

"Emma, I can't stop it!" She's hysterical and panicked, her whole body shaking, "I keep seeing her, I see Anna everywhere. But she's not here. She's _never_ here." Her words are desperate and jumbled.

"Elsa, you need to calm down. Breathe." Emma takes tentative steps towards the Snow Queen, her hands held out in front of her in a small kind of defence.

"I can't," she yells over the sounds of the ice storm, swirls of snow caught up in strong winds that are all too much for her to handle and control.

Emma throws a glance over her shoulder to see Killian running towards the scene and takes comfort in that before stepping further into Elsa's blizzard, "You can. You can stop this. I will help you find Anna, we can do that together." She feels her own magic pooling in her limbs, an overwhelming need to protect the people around her from the wintery storm making her body nearly vibrate with light magic.

She can hear Killian's footsteps chasing towards her, can see Elsa losing control in front of her, the wind whipping around her ears in furious gusts…

And then it is silent.

…

_**Thoughts?**_


	2. Chapter 2 - Not a Footprint to be Seen

_**Words cannot express the gratitude for your amazing response to the first chapter. I hope you like this one just as much! Definitely hoping to not have such a long wait between chapters as this one. I went away last week (and met JMo!) so it was a little bit of a stretch to get this up sooner. Sorry all!**_

…  
_Not a Footprint to be Seen_  
…

"NO!" Killian shouts, the storm dropping and leaving a layer of snow on the ground, flakes still falling around them in a quiet reminder of what just occurred. Elsa is lying on the ground, her body limp and exhausted and the pirate rushes towards her. "Elsa! Get up!" He reaches her and tugs at her arms, "Come on, get up. Where's Emma? Where is she?"

The Snow Queen raises her head slowly, eyes opening but unfocussed, "What? What happened?"

"A bloody blizzard is what happened. Where's Emma?" He tries again.

Elsa tries to sit up and look around, but her body is numb and she just wants to sleep. "I thought I saw Anna," she mumbles to no one in particular.

Killian can tell that he's losing her fast, "Not Anna. Emma. Where is she? Where did you send her?"

But before any questions can be answered, the young queen passes out again, her petite form curled up, her hand clutching a locket around her neck.

"Dammit," mutters Killian, looking around behind him at the place he had last seen Emma. The space is empty, the trail of ice and snow melting into the pavement and disappearing just as his princess had.

…

David meets him at the hospital far sooner than Killian had expected him, but he doesn't question how many laws had been broken and, instead, tries to bring the prince up to speed.

"Elsa won't wake up, she's used all of her energy on sending Emma wherever the bloody hell she's been sent." He can't help the tone of frustration leaking into his voice, "Whale said it could be days."

"And you said she just vanished?"

The pirate nods, "Aye. No trace of her at all."

To his credit, David is doing a much better job of keeping it together than Killian would have expected. It must be all those years of losing and finding Snow that have him calm. Emma has repeatedly told him about her family's constant quest to find each other and, especially after their little trip back in time, he feels like he has a small grasp on what this whole hope thing is.

Charming runs a hand across his forehead, "Well, Snow's going to Regina's to see if she will help and I guess, until Elsa wakes up, we just have to remember that Emma is more than capable of keeping herself safe. Wherever she may be."

They turn to face the hospital room that Elsa is currently occupying, her heart beating out a steady rhythm on the monitors, her eyes closed as though she's just sleeping. It's the first time she's looked truly at peace in this town and Killian feels a pang of guilt for having brought her back and into this world. Sure, being confined to an urn to live out her days was unfair and unfortunate, but Elsa had expressed a discomfort with this modern world from the moment she had stepped foot in it. It was loud and busy, and she was timid and unsure.

"It'll all be okay," David says, clapping Killian on the shoulder. "If there's only thing this family can do, it's find one another."

And he should feel guilty that he's the one accepting the comfort when it is the prince's daughter who has been taken from him yet again. But in this moment, he doesn't know how to do anything else. Emma is his world, his everything, the one person he has truly given up everything for and he wants her back. Oh, he wants her back.

…

Snow sits down across from Regina, placing a coffee on the table in front of them and sliding it towards the former evil queen. She's very deliberately not brought Emma up yet, having finally mended her delicate relationship with the older woman, but she knows that she needs to do this for her daughter.

"It's okay, you know? To ask for help. I'm not going to suddenly lash out against you because you're not focusing on my moping."

Snow sighs because she and Regina have built this tentative bond in the last few months and she knows that this line of questioning has the potential to do exactly the opposite of what her stepmother has just promised against. The queen had been left devastated in the wake of her True Love being reunited with his lost wife but, instead of becoming a raging storm of fury, she had descended into a somewhat crippling depression, something that has Snow treading on eggshells.

With caution, she asks, "Have you ever heard of people disappearing into ice?"

Regina puts her mug down and narrows her eyes, "People being turned into ice, you mean?"

Snow shakes her head, "Not particularly. Just…disappearing." At the silence, she reluctantly continues, finally elaborating on the whole situation, "Elsa seems to have sent Emma somewhere. She disappeared this afternoon with only a trail of ice leading to nowhere left in her wake."

The defence in Regina's tone is immediate, "And you think I would know something about this?"

"It just sounds like it could be a curse and…"

"I have cursed people," she concedes, trying her best to keep her temper in check.

Snow nods. "I know you and Emma have been on questionable terms of late, but she's my daughter and she's Henry's mother…"

Regina stands up, crossing the floor to the archway that leads back out towards the front of her house, making it clear that she's showing her stepdaughter out, "If I were to be able to help, I want to be clear that I absolutely would, for Henry's sake. However I have never heard of anything like this at all. Curses have the ability to transport your mind to a place of torment, but I have never seen the actual person go away. I'm, unfortunately, unable to help."

Snow closes her eyes on a sigh, but composes herself a moment later to stand up and follow Regina out of the house. She turns around at the front door, facing the Mayor and seeing someone so small standing there, "If you think of anything, or if you need anything, you know where we are."

Regina nods, her demeanour softening at Snow's kindness. They have spent days talking about the whole situation with Robin and how Regina isn't necessarily angry at Emma anymore, but embarrassed to show her face in town. It had been humiliating watching her love and Marian reunite. Heartbreaking and humiliating. "I'll make it out there again. One day."

"I believe in you, Regina. You'll find your light magic again."

The queen bows her head, not saying a word more, and closes the door.

…

Henry pulls his coat tighter around him as he follows Killian down to where Emma had disappeared. "Elsa's really done a number on Storybrooke this time," he mutters, his breath visible in front of him in the cool night.

The pirate nods in agreement, even feeling the biting chill to be a bit too much for his liking, "We can return to warmth soon, lad. We're nearly there."

It had been on the young man's insistence that they were even braving the cold right now. He wanted to see the place that his mother had disappeared from, refusing to believe that she could be taken from him yet again without witnessing it for himself.

"It's okay, Killian. I'm okay."

They pick up their pace, nearly jogging as they approach the area in question.

"It was here, Henry." Killian gestures towards the space on the ground which had last been occupied by Emma.

It's strange to think that, just this afternoon, there had been barely a trace of evidence of the whole event because now, as the forced winter is setting in, there are very obvious patterns on the concrete. Swirls of ice shards stick up at all angles, a pathway to the nothingness that seemingly engulfed Emma.

Henry sinks to his knees in front of the ice, his coldness forgotten as he reaches out to touch one of the spikes. Killian can see him concentrating hard, his eyes closed and brow furrowed. It's silent between them as they both hold their breath, waiting for something to happen. For _anything_ to happen.

Eventually though, Henry sighs in resignation and looks up at the pirate, sorrow in his eyes, "I'm sorry. I just thought…"

He smiles softly at the boy, "I know. Your magic is based on belief Henry. You need to believe that your mother is okay."

"But I don't," he admits softly.

It breaks Killian's heart, "She will be though."

Henry takes the hook that's offered to him to help him up, "You sound like grandpa."

The pirate chuckles humourlessly at that, never thinking that he'd ever be compared to the prince, "Your grandparents have both definitely taught me a thing or two about hope, lad. And we need to hope that your mother is alright."

He nods, "I just wish she wasn't alone."

"Aye," Killian agrees, wishing more than anything that he could have followed her into whatever abyss she had fallen. He's always been there with her, from the start. He would cross countless realms just to ensure her safety and he'd do it without even thinking. His natural instinct, from the moment he met her, has always been to protect his Swan.

With a last look at the jagged ice shards, Killian slings an arm across Henry's shoulders. If he can't be there for Emma, he's sure as hell going to make sure her son remains safe in her absence, "Come along lad, we'd best get you home."

…

It's cold.

Too cold.

The kind of cold that leeches in past your skin and settles deep in your bones, that leaves you breathless and blind.

Emma lifts her head, trying to take in her surroundings, but everything else falls away and her heart stutters when she sees Killian standing in front of her. "Oh thank god," she whispers, her breath streaming out in front of her. She presses her hands down on the icy ground and pushes herself up, slipping her way towards the pirate. He seems to be looking straight through her though, so she tries calling out, "Killian."

Nothing.

Still, she slides closer, nearly coming to a complete stop when Henry pops up out of nowhere as well. "Henry," she calls, waving her hands above her head. But there's no hint of recognition in either of their eyes.

Her son sits down in front of her and reaches a hand out, which Emma leans forward to touch. She flinches back when, instead of feeling the warmth of her son's skin, her hand connects with more smooth ice, "What?"

It's only then that she takes a moment to look up above her head, look around over her shoulder and behind her. The ice is endless, stretching on for eternities that she can't see, twirling in frozen patterns from wall to wall and corridor to corridor.

Her awe is so intense that she steps away from her boys to explore the depths of this ice palace, running her freezing fingers over the ridges in the walls in wonder. It's unlike anything she's ever seen before, as though someone has grabbed a hold of her mother's palace and coated it in winter. Its beauty is dangerous but also completely enchanting and she knows that Elsa's kind and unpredictable heart is the creator of such architecture.

She pulls her leather jacket a little tighter around her, hoping it will provide enough warmth for her time here, but feeling the tendrils of cold already creeping beneath her clothing and settling closer to her skin. It had been summer this morning and she's not even close to appropriately dressed for the amount of snow and ice around her.

It's a scary feeling being alone in a place she doesn't know, but it doesn't compare to when she turns back around, expecting to see her boys again, only to find them gone.

…

_**Thoughts?**_


	3. Chapter 3 - A Kingdom of Isolation

_**Thank you all again for sticking with me. I'm getting to the good stuff, I promise :) Hope you're still enjoying it! **_

_**Also, I just realised I haven't once thanked my dear beta and friend, the wonderful eitoph! She's the one behind the scenes giving me the confidence boosts I need to keep posting :)**_

.

Part Two

_**She pushes, he pulls.**_

…  
_A Kingdom of Isolation  
…_

_Neverland had changed a lot of things. It changed the way she saw her parents, changed the way she held onto her son, it changed the way she challenged Regina, how she viewed Neal. But the most significant change was in how she understood Hook. _

_Before Neverland, she'd thought she'd known him, had seen his story in his eyes laid bare for her to pick apart, they are the same, she and Hook; they understand each other. But now, oh now, she sees the amount he's hidden from her – his sentiment, his care, the little things that make her want to trust him for no other reason than he's asked her to. _

_It's the way he's always by her side that gets to her though, that really changes everything. He's becoming her solid ground and there's nothing she can do about it. So when Zelena comes between them and he's suddenly so distant, Emma doesn't know what to do with herself. She's become so used to having him to turn to, he's travelled so far so many times just to save her and now he's all strange with his brooding nature and the way he holds himself back. _

_When she finds out that he's been hiding his cursed lips from her, she finally understands it, but he's still distant somehow, still not quite all the way with her. They're healing, but they're still hiding from one another. So when they go back in time and she's given the chance to become close with a past version of Killian, well, it's almost too tempting…_

…

Emma watches herself kissing past-Hook on what seems like a big icy screen in front of her. She hasn't quite figured out the logistics yet, but it seems as though these glossy surfaces reflect any moment that you choose to think of.

It really is the most bizarre realm that she's found herself in, almost like a suspended reality, a dream that she's sure she's going to wake up from at any moment.

It's strange being able to stand back at watch a moment on repeat. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't revisited the memory in her mind, because really, despite the rum, Captain Hook had been gentle and loving with her, passionate but also soft. But seeing it from an outsider's perspective, well she understands now why her Killian, her present Killian, had felt the need to punch his past self. It really was rather…steamy. She may have gotten into her bar wench character a little too much.

Again and again she mentally rewinds the scene, watching it play out and wondering just how far she would have let it go had it not been for Killian. But at the thought of him, the scene abruptly changes to a new one. Something from their first night together. Henry had come home to find his mother and the pirate making out in the kitchen. He'd sort of cringed, congratulated them and then excused himself to spend the night at Regina's. So, taking advantage of an empty apartment, Emma had invited Killian to stay, with the honest intention of just watching a movie and maybe accidentally falling asleep against his chest.

The night had definitely taken a different turn to that, though.

She has to laugh as her mind takes her on this little adventure, the way he'd stared down at her bra and wondered aloud how the hell he was going to get past it. They'd since navigated that little problem, but every now and then he still grumbles about the modern invention.

It brings a smile to her face, her body forgetting about the cold around her for a moment as she focuses on the way his hand glides up her side. She can almost feel him, almost smell the soft scent of the sea that always follows him, can almost hear his whispered words of love. Her eyes close, trying to capture the moment, concentrating on the warmth it spreads through her. Her magic simmers beneath her skin, taking her breath away.

She can feel her fingertips glowing with magic and pours every ounce of effort into remembering every little detail of Storybrooke that makes it home for her. The heat spreads to each extremity of her body, adrenaline pumping in her veins and making her feel like she's flying.

But when she opens her eyes, with a gasp, and sees that nothing has changed except for the scene before her on the ice screen, she realises just how much she needs Killian, needs his encouragement, his absolute faith in her. And, in that moment, it no longer becomes a choice for her. In that moment she knows that she would marry him in a heartbeat.

…

Henry had fallen asleep on his grandparents' couch and Killian doesn't have the heart to move him. Instead, he returns to Emma's apartment alone and can really notice the drop in temperature upon entering the empty space. After struggling with the heater controls, that he once saw Emma use, for a few minutes, he finally figures out how to work it and basks in the soft heat coming from the magical box on the wall. These modern wonders will never cease to amaze him and he definitely needs to figure out a way to incorporate a few of these luxuries into his new sea vessel.

He avoids going to the bedroom for as long as possible, taking a long shower in the bathroom usually reserved for Henry rather than the ensuite. He stands under the warm spray for a good half hour before his skin starts to wrinkle and he realises that he should probably get out.

It feels strange going to bed without Emma there, but the thing he really isn't prepared for is seeing the small pouch on his bedside table, still sitting there, its question still hanging in the air. He picks up the pouch, tipping the ring from its confines and rolling the delicate band over his palm. David had spoken to him today about Emma's fears and alleviated some of Killian's own stresses that the woman of his dreams simply just didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

Contrary to that particular belief, David had assured him that Emma simply didn't know how to say yes, even though she wanted to. He'd said to just be persistent and patient – but they seem like very different tasks to Killian Jones.

Right now, he'd do anything just to have her in his arms again. Her disappearance doesn't feel real to him, it's all happened too fast. Twenty-four hours ago they were content and no danger was present to them. Now though, now everything is a big uncertainty and his thoughts can only wander to fears for her safety.

He pushes the ring back into the pouch and sets it down, back where it was, pulling the covers on the bed up over himself and switching off the lamp next to him. As his eyes adjust to the darkness around him and he mentally plans his next trip to the place where he'd seen Emma disappear, he realises that sleep is going to be difficult to acquire this evening.

…

She tries to stop her teeth from chattering, but it's far too cold and she doesn't have anything to distract her from that little detail. Well, nothing except the giant frozen scenes that keep playing out in front of her. But even they're becoming less and less distracting as the cold settles under her skin and the heat from her magic leeches away.

She's pacing back and forth, focusing on the glimpse of Henry she'd had before and knowing that if she can see her family, even for a moment, then there is a connection between this world and her own. Thinking of Henry means that memories of her son are playing in front of her though and she's trying her best not to become distracted and disheartened by them. Her first few months in Storybrooke are rehashed, the constant push and pull between wanting to stay with him and wanting to walk away settling deep in the pit of her stomach, adding to the cold feeling inside of her.

Ducking her head lower, she folds her arms tighter across her chest, pushing her hands up into her armpits and hoping for something to just miraculously take her away from this frozen realm. A flash catches her eye and she finds herself looking up at the scene in front of her. Henry's surrounded by a white hospital room, his eyes flying open as he awakens from his curse. Her heart actually aches for her son, aches for the simplicity of playing video games at all hours of the night and making pancakes the next morning.

Watching Henry's heaving chest on the ice screen sends pangs of guilt through her. New York was truly simple for them and she wonders if they'll ever have that again, ever have the oblivious happiness they had for that one shining year. She's felt happy in these last few months, but knowing that drama is around every corner takes the edge off the happiness.

Deep in her soul she knows that all is not as hopeless as it seems, but it doesn't seem to make a difference in this realm, the negativity dragging her down. She can feel panic setting in at the racing thoughts in her mind, this ice palace confining her to coldness and bitterness. Her heart pounds and she feels everything around her start to swim in a cloud of fog, the edges of her vision closing in. She wants out. Out of this realm, out of this kind way of life. She wants her son and her pirate and her parents and her brother. That's it. None of the complications, none of the curses and the portals and the difficulties of being a saviour to a whole host of fairytale characters.

"It shouldn't be this hard," she whispers to herself, eyes fixed on the images of Henry before her as her heart beats faster and faster.

And then, all of a sudden, everything changes.

She frowns as people she doesn't know in a castle she's never seen before flood the screen, a relieved breath leaving her as the anguish of everything dissipates immediately. It looks like a ball – a celebration of sorts – dresses in every colour and style being shown off by men in dashing attire twirling them on the dance floor. And overseeing it all, a familiar face.

"Elsa," Emma starts, stepping towards the ice in wonder. This is definitely not a memory of hers and she wonders if, somehow, the ice queen has left some of her own in this place.

She spins around, searching for any other source or explanation and lets out a surprised gasp when she comes face to face with a young woman with red hair. "What the hell?" she exclaims, taking a step back from this girl.

But she's not shy and takes a step at the same time, keeping pace with Emma, "I'm sorry if I frightened you. It's just that you looked so upset and I know how to control my visions, so I thought you might like a break. I don't know how to do this…interactions with other people and all. It's been an awfully long time."

Emma's mouth opens and closes a couple of times, trying to find the right words to say in this situation, but she really has nothing.

"I don't even know how long, really. But it _feels _long, you know?"

"I'm sorry," Emma finally gets out, "But who are you?"

The young woman smiles, "How rude of me. I'm out of practice, you see." She curtsies and bows her head, "I'm Princess Anna of Arandelle."

…

_**Thoughts?**_


End file.
